Asia’s Heat Wave Scorches Hundreds of Millions
April 22nd, 2024
Via the New York Times, a report on Asia’s heat wave: Hundreds of millions of people in South and Southeast Asia were suffering on Monday from a punishing heat wave that has forced schools to close, disrupted agriculture, and raised the risk of heat strokes and other health complications. The weather across the region in […]
Read more »‘We Need More Shade’: U.S.’s Hottest City Turns to Trees to Cool Those Most in Need
April 19th, 2024
Courtesy of The Guardian, a look at Phoenix – which broke several heat records last year – is deploying a tree-planting drive that promises some respite from 100F temperatures: It was a relatively cool spring day in Phoenix, Arizona, as a tree-planting crew dug large holes in one of the desert city’s hottest and least shaded […]
Read more »Nearly Half of China’s Major Cities Are Sinking
April 19th, 2024
Via Reuters, a report on China’s growing challenge of subsidence: Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released on Friday. The authors of the paper, published by […]
Read more »Deadly Heat Is Baking Cities. Here’s How to Cool Them Down
April 16th, 2024
Via Wired, a look at how urban areas can be 20 degrees hotter than the surrounding country. But green spaces and reflective pavement can make city life more bearable: IF YOU’VE EVER driven from the country into the city and marveled at how the temperature dramatically spiked, you’ve felt the urban heat island effect. The streets […]
Read more »How To Stop A State From Sinking
April 15th, 2024
Via MIT Technology Review, a look at how Louisiana’s southwestern coastline faces some of the most severe climate predictions in the US. Can a government-led project build the area up and out of crisis? Many of the mobile homes, Creole cottages, and other dwellings that have been flagged for flood risk along Louisiana’s low-lying coastline […]
Read more »Toronto Wants to Manage Storms and Floods—With a Rain Tax
April 14th, 2024
Via Canada’s National Observer, an article on the outcry in Toronto that reached such a crescendo last week that the city canceled public hearings on the tax, which is intended to help offset the hundreds of millions spent managing stormwater and basement flooding: A plan to charge Toronto homeowners and businesses for paved surfaces on […]
Read more »'Black Swans' are highly improbable events that come as a surprise, have major disruptive effects, and that are often rationalized after the fact as if they had been predictable to begin with. In our rapidly warming world, such events are occurring ever more frequently and include wildfires, floods, extreme heat, and drought.
'Green Shoots' is a term used to describe signs of economic recovery or positive data during a downturn. It references a period of growth and recovery, when plants start to show signs of health and life, and, therefore, has been employed as a metaphor for a recovering economy.
It is my hope that Black Swans / Green Shoots will help readers understand both climate-activated risk and opportunity so that you may invest in, advise, or lead organizations in the context of increasing pressures of global urbanization, resource scarcity, and perils relating to climate change. I believe that the tools of business and finance can help individuals, businesses, and global society make informed choices about who and what to protect, and I hope that this blog provides some insight into the policy and private sector tools used to assess investments in resilient reinforcement, response, or recovery.